The present invention relates to an improvement on data display/input method for CNC apparatuses used as terminals of an online system.
There are known a network system in which a plurality of CNC apparatuses are connected to a host computer so that information can be shared among the operators of the CNC apparatuses and the host computer.
In conventional types of such network system, personal computers and the like connected to the network are used as relaying means, and information from the CNC apparatuses is sent to the host computer via the respective relaying means, so that the CNC apparatuses per se are incapable of making direct access to the host computer.
Further, in the conventional type, data input by the operator is first sent to the host computer from the personal computer and is processed by the host computer, and the result of the processing is transferred to the personal computer to be displayed on the screen thereof, so that each time the keyboard is operated on the CNC device side, the processing function of the host computer has to be used, and thus where a plurality of the CNC apparatuses or personal computers are provided, the load on the host computer increases, posing a problem that the processing operation of the host computer slows down.
In addition, since a personal computer or the like serving as the relay means is needed for each of the CNC apparatuses, the system construction cost increases, thereby reducing available floor space in the factory.
On the other hand, information from the host computer to the CNC apparatus side is displayed at the personal computer or the like according to the format previously incorporated into the personal computer or the like, which serves as a relay means, so that every information to be sent from the host computer to the CNC apparatus side needs to be designed in accordance with the format, giving rise to a problem that the information that the host computer can send to the CNC apparatus side is limited.
For example, the display area of the personal computer or the like as the relay means, is preassigned for text data, graphic data, etc., and also the position of the display area, the number of colors available for display, etc. are predefined by the software of the personal computer. Thus, the information that can be transferred for display from the host computer to the relay means is limited, causing a disadvantage that the information held by the host computer cannot be used effectively.
Also, when the data to be sent from the host computer to the personal computers has to be modified, every data format of each of the personal computers needs to be modified accordingly, making system change extremely complicate.
It is already a known practice to send emergency information from the host computer to the CNC apparatuses for display thereat; however, according to conventional method, the emergency information is displayed on the display screen in the same fashion according to the fixed format, regardless of the condition under which the CNC apparatuses are then used. Therefore, such emergency display sometimes not only becomes hindrance to the data or program editing operation by the operator but also causes the operator to overlook the emergency information, especially when the operator is away from the display screen.
An object of the present invention is to provide a data display/input method for a CNC apparatus, the method being capable of reducing the load of the host computer, permitting a variety of data held by the host computer, such as text data, numeric data, graphic data, etc., to be effectively used from the CNC apparatus side, eliminating the need of using personal computers as relay means, thereby reducing the cost necessary for system construction, and also permitting the floor space of a factory to be effectively used.
Another object of the present invention is to enable the CNC apparatus to access the host computer so that the host computer can effectively collect information of the CNC apparatus side.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a data display/input method for a CNC apparatus, the method being designed so that the display of emergency information will not impede the operator at work using a display device but surely make the emergency information recognizable to the operator.
According to the data display/input method for CNC apparatuses of the present invention in a factory automation system provided with an online system connecting a host computer and the CNC apparatus to each other, the method comprises the steps of: transmitting display contents to be displayed at the CNC apparatus serving as a terminal equipment of the online system and input/output information associated with such display contents, from the host computer to the CNC apparatus; displaying the transmitted display contents at a display/input device of the CNC apparatus in accordance with the input/output information; and displaying the data manually input to the CNC apparatus and the display contents on the same screen of the display/input device. The data manually input to the CNC apparatus is transmitted to the host computer after being displayed at the display/input device. With this arrangement, both the display contents transmitted from the host computer and the data input to the CNC apparatus are displayed on the display/input device of the CNC apparatus. Consequently, the personal computer as relaying means becomes unnecessary, thereby not only reducing the cost of constructing the system but also enabling economical use of the floor space of the factory.
The input/output information transmitted from the host computer includes information of an on-screen display area, information of a display position, information of colors to be displayed, information of screen control, a display position of data manually input to the CNC apparatus, a format of the manually input data etc., so that, only by changing the setting of the host computer side, all CNC apparatuses connected to the host computer can perform data input/output processing in accordance with the changed setting, and the host computer can transmit information freely to the CNC apparatus side. Also, even in the case where data to be transmitted from the host computer to the CNC apparatuses is changed, it is not necessary to modify the data format of the individual CNC apparatuses, thereby facilitating system change. For the data manually input to the CNC apparatuses, the CNC apparatuses themselves carry out data setting in accordance with the format supplied from the host computer; therefore, the process, wherein a character code or the like to be input with every operation of the ten key is transmitted to the host computer for processing and echoed back to be displayed on the display screen of the CNC apparatus, is not required, thereby alleviating the load on the host computer and also permitting smooth processing operation of the entire system.
The input/output information includes specifications of display contents and functions of function keys to be displayed on the screen of the display/input device of the CNC apparatus, and the display contents include character information or graphic information. The CNC apparatus decodes the specifications and the information and displays the same on the screen of the display/input device thereof, and the display contents can be transmitted from the host computer on a page-by-page basis, so that it is possible for the display pages to be freely selected on the CNC apparatus.
Further, the program, the current positions of the servomotors, etc., which are subjected to the control of the CNC apparatus, can be displayed on a full screen of the CNC apparatus by selectively switching the display of the data from the host computer and the display of the program, the current positions of the servomotors, etc. using the soft keys or the like.
Further, in the data display/input method for a CNC apparatus according to present invention, the program number currently recognized by the CNC apparatus, the current positions of servomotors connected to the CNC apparatus, information as the command from the CNC apparatus, cutting load information of the servomotors or spindle motors, alarm information and the data indicating at least two kinds of the current status of the CNC apparatus including the transmission time are simultaneously transmitted from the CNC apparatus to the host computer either upon request from the host computer or periodically, thereby making it possible for the CNC apparatuses to access the host computer, and for host computer to effectively collect information from the CNC apparatuses.
For the sampling and data transmission, there are a method in which the CNC apparatus monitors the status thereof at predetermined period and transmits the monitored information to the host computer at the same period and a method in which the CNC apparatus stores the monitored information corresponding to two or more of the predetermined periods for later collective transmission to be made in response to a request from the host computer.
Further, according to the present invention, display contents to be displayed on the display/input device of the CNC apparatus are created beforehand within the host computer, and the display contents are transmitted to the CNC apparatus. Display data transmitted from the host computer includes emergency information and a code for changing the color of the emergency information to be displayed on the screen of the display/input device of the CNC apparatus, and the CNC apparatus displays the display contents by using a display method varying depending on the status thereof. Thus, the operator""s work using the display device not only will not be impeded by the display of emergency information but also the necessary emergency information can surely be made recognized by the operator. For example, when the CNC apparatus is in an important setting/operation mode, such as a data entry mode or a program editing mode, the emergency information is displayed in a corner of the display screen so that the emergency information will not disturb important display on the screen. On the other hand, when the setting or operation by the operator is not needed as during automatic operation and thus it is very likely that the operator is away from the CNC apparatus, the emergency information is displayed on the entire display screen, to thereby call the operator""s attention.